Description of the painting by Sandro Botticelli “John the Baptist”

Updated on 09.01.2019By Admin

The Italian master of the Renaissance Sandro Botticelli has repeatedly portrayed in his works of St. John the Baptist. The forerunner of Christ was one of the most popular in the painting of the entire Renaissance, with the popularity being second only to the Holy Virgin Mary. He was usually portrayed in two forms – as a cute baby or a young man, or as a thin, emaciated adult. The saint is present in the paintings of such pillars of painting as Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Raphael Santi, Rogier van der Weyden and many others.

Among the works of Botticelli, the Madonna with Child and Young John the Baptist, kept in the Art Museum of the Brazilian Sao Paulo, as well as the Madonna with Child, John the Baptist and John the Theologian, better known as the altar of Bardi, should be noted. Giovanni de Bardi, who came from Florence, was known to contemporaries as a “great English merchant”, he led the Medici Bank in London for a long time and made his money on the export of wool.

When Bardi returned to his hometown from England in 1483, he built the Santo Spirito chapel, wanting to find spiritual salvation. Nowadays, the upper part of the altar and the paneling are still in the chapel of Bardi, in a prominent position to the left of the choir. The altar is located in Berlin Hemaldegaleri, while the original frame produced by wood carver and architect Giuliano da Sangallo was lost.

In addition to these famous master paintings, there are several more images of John the Baptist. One of them, written in 1490, is stored in the name room in Uffizzi.